Isaiah 3–4

3RD CHAPTER

The Lord’s Judgment on Sinners in Zion

¹See now, the Lord, the Lord of Armies, 

is going to take from Jerusalem and Judah 

every kind of support 

and their entire supply of food and water. 

²⸤He will take their⸥ heroes and soldiers, 

judges and prophets, 

fortunetellers and statesmen, 

³military leaders and civilian leaders, 

counselors, skilled workers, and experts in magic. 

⁴“I will make boys their leaders. 

Children will govern them.” 

⁵People will oppress each other, 

and everyone will oppress his neighbor. 

The young will make fun of the old, 

and common people will make fun of their superiors. 

⁶A person will grab one of his relatives 

from his father’s family and say, 

“You have a coat. 

You’ll be our leader. 

This pile of ruins will be under your control.” 

⁷When that day comes the relative will cry out, 

“I’m not a doctor! 

I don’t have any food or a coat in my home. 

Don’t make me a leader of our family.” 

⁸Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, 

because what they say and what they do is against the Lord. 

They are defiant in his honored presence. 

⁹The look on their faces will be held against them. 

They boast about their sins, 

which are like ⸤those of the people of⸥ Sodom. 

They don’t even bother to hide them. 

How horrible it will be for these people, 

because they have brought disaster on themselves. 

¹⁰Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them. 

They will taste the fruit of their labor. 

¹¹How horrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster will strike them. 

What they have done will be done to them. 

¹²“Children will oppress my people. 

Women will rule them. 

My people, your guides mislead you, 

and you don’t know which way to go.” 

¹³The Lord takes his place in the courtroom. 

He stands to judge his people. 

¹⁴The Lord presents his case to the respected leaders 

and the officials of his people: 

“You have burned down the vineyard! 

Your houses are filled with goods stolen from the poor.” 

¹⁵The Almighty Lord of Armies asks, 

“How can you crush my people 

and grind the faces of the poor ⸤into the ground⸥?” 

¹⁶The Lord adds, 

“The women of Zion are arrogant. 

They walk with their noses in the air, 

making seductive glances, 

taking short little steps, 

jingling the ankle bracelets on their feet.” 

¹⁷The Lord will cause sores ⸤to appear⸥ 

on the heads of the women of Zion, 

and the Lord will make their foreheads bare. 

¹⁸On that day the Lord will take away their fine things: jingling anklets, headbands, crescent-shaped necklaces, ¹⁹pendants, bracelets, scarfs, ²⁰hats, ankle bracelets, blouses, perfume boxes, charms, ²¹signet rings, nose rings, ²²fine robes, coats, shawls, purses, ²³mirrors, underwear, headdresses, and veils. 

²⁴Instead of the smell of perfume, there will be the smell of decay. 

They will wear ropes instead of belts. 

They will have bald heads instead of beautiful hair. 

They will wear sackcloth instead of expensive clothes. 

Their beauty will be scarred.^a

²⁵⸤Women,⸥ your warriors will die in combat. 

Your mighty men will die in battle. 

²⁶The gates of Zion will cry and grieve, 

and Zion will sit on the ground, exhausted. 

4TH CHAPTER

¹When that day comes, seven women will grab one man and say, 

“We’ll eat our own food and provide our own clothes. 

Just let us marry you for your name. 

Take away our disgrace.” 

The Lord’s New Glory for Zion

²When that day comes, the branch of the Lord 

will be beautiful and wonderful. 

The fruit of the land 

will be the pride and joy of Israel’s survivors. 

³Then whoever is left in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴The Lord will wash away the filth of Zion’s people.^aHe will clean bloodstains from Jerusalem with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. ⁵The Lord will create a cloud of smoke during the day and a glowing flame of fire during the night over the whole area of Mount Zion and over the assembly. His glory will cover everything. ⁶It will be a shelter from the heat during the day as well as a refuge and hiding place from storms and rain.